Foot and Footwear

About washing the feet

Feet and footwear are two most important aspects of our life. The former gets us around and the latter helps the former get us around.

When my grandfather used to stay with us, I associated him with one oft repeated statement. ‘Did you wash your feet?’ If I as much as went into the bathroom to wet my face or rinse my mouth, he would ask me, did you wash your feet? When I returned from school, play, portico or neighbour’s house, he would cough again…Did you wash your feet?

And then there was one more rule … wet your ankles or bad luck will ride on them. And, what with embarrassing red lines in the report card and ‘Meet the Princi’ orders, I did not dare risk bad luck riding on my ankles. So I faithfully washed them.



wet ankles in the Beas in Manali



Washing the feet (and the ankles) is an important ritual in Hindu weddings and some lady-functions like Huveelya and Sumangali puja. You will have to Google or wait for tomorrow's post if you don't know what that is. !!

When I was in my thirties I became wiser?? I stopped believing in bad luck riding on ankles. I stopped washing my feet so frequently. But I remained the middle-class Indian. So I had barely 2 pairs of footwear. One for daily use and one party wear. The feet cried out for help. But mostly their cries fell on deaf ears.

In ten plus years the world of Indian city life has transformed itself. Wetting bathroom floors, padding around barefoot and washing ankles ten times a day are passé. But we have pedicure. We have foot creams and sole massages. We have bubble sole slippers. We have dedicated footwear catering to differing needs.



assorted footwear at Dilli Haat

Happy days are here again

For feet … And footwear companies

Look! Even I have 4 pairs of footwear!

And did you wet your ankle?

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Is there a superstition that forced you to do the right thing? share pls 

 

 

More on Manali

Manali is a small market town in the Kullu Valley of Himachal Pradesh, India. Spring takes a wee bit longer to wind its way up to Manali. It is the 22nd of March and the apple trees in this orchard stand like stripped mannequins trapped before they are ready for display.



apple trees waiting for spring

 Like batsmen who play on front foot, we drive down to Manikaran to catch spring on its way up. Spring, a playful child, lingers at the hill slopes.



hill slopes

  We drive past an apple orchard happier than the one in Manali. We soak in the emerald, lime and sap brushstrokes that Spring is making here.

green apple orchard

Two days later we leave Manali and see that Spring works her magic fixing opals and pink pearls on the cherry trees near the bus stand.

 
Spring finds her way to Manali afterall....
 
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Adobe walls

I am in Mexico with Anita Desai as I nestle in my armchair turning the pages of her book- The Zigzag Way. The arid scenery reminds me of the long drive from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. My imagination can only match my experience.

There is a repeated mention of adobe walls in the story. So I Google. Adobe walls are made of sun-baked bricks fashioned out of locally available mud and straw. Essentially - munnina-maney - as we say in Kannada in our villages. I saw some very lovely homes in Gundlapet. Adobe walls are very strong and stay for years if not centuries.

Manali has these quaint old homes in the undisturbed villages of Goshal and Barua. You see them during your drive to Manikaran or Solang Valley.


ancient home

Walls are made of stones of varying colours and sizes packed tightly like kids in a class photo.


stone wall

 Slate tiles on the roof protrude at varying angles like the teeth of an old woman.


slate tile roof

 No shortage of fresh air in this wooden shack.

wooden shack

All good, pick one

I get this call from Rupa. She is at the library and wants me to suggest a book she can borrow. Rupa is a new entrant into the world of English fiction. This is a long distance call and I am on roaming!! So I waste no time and quickly tell her, select any book by Arthur Hailey, Jeffrey Archer, Michael Crichton or Robin Cook. She selects one by JA.

Come to think of it…………WOW! These men live up to expectation every time. Dependability is a fabulous thing.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s films
Bagchi’s columns
Shylaja’s cooking
Delhi metro
Chand's parties
Vidyarthi Bhavan
MS Subbalakshmi’s CDs

I could go for them blindly………they always leave me waiting for the next time. When skill, dedication and love come together wonders are created. And when someone can bring them together every time……..wah! that is pure joy for all in that world.

There was this great mathematician who as a student was asked to attempt any 10 questions out of 14. He answered all and requested the teacher to mark any 10 out of 14. Call that confidence or audacity?

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Manali caps for sale

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Thank you Shami ... yes, there is a guru round every corner. The student needs to be willing.

Something small

I just had to share this picture with you all.


This flower is really tiny and growing in the wilderness of Manali

Lessons from Hadimba

About the power of self determination
Hadimba Temple - Manali

Hadimb and Hadimba are siblings. Perhaps twins? Born into the Rakshasa clan they live deep in the dark forests, are cannibals by right and kill for pleasure. The Pandavas are banished into the forests forsaking royal luxury.

Hadimb, perhaps the elder one, sends Hadimba out to find man-meat for his mid-day-meal. Hadimba sees Bhima. She is mesmerised by his frank face, his courage and his strong muscular build. She transforms herself into a damsel and wins his heart. Meat to Mate in 3 moves...??

Meanwhile Hadimb comes, attacks Bhima and is killed by him. Bhima keeps his promise to Hadimba, marries her and has a son by her named Ghatotkaccha. Bhima leaves to fulfill his duties by the land. Hadimba remains in the dark forest with her son, transforms herself by meditation and generous deeds and brings up a son worthy of his illustrious father.

Today she is venerated by the people of Manali as a goddess, not in any manner denying her rakshasa origin. A small brass idol hardly 4 inches high represents her. Puja is performed daily. In May every year a festival is held and sacrifices made... of small animals, large vegetables and finally an ox. Skulls of ibex and goats adorn the walls of the temple!

This surely is a tale of triumph. Triumph of creative and original thought over environment, over upbringing, over social expectation and over all possible excuses. Strangely, there is also another temple to her in Chitradurga in Karnataka. Now how did she get there?

The Hadimba temple in Manali has massive and passive angora rabbits that you can pose with!



massive passive angora rabbits

 Yaks that you can ride on! (they have curved horns and stinky long hair)



Yak - off duty

 Winding walk ways that you can get lost in. And colourful locals you can chat up with.



Slate tiled roof and locals of Manali

 The temple is made of wood and stone. And has awesome carved wood panels. The metal covered pagodas are all the more interesting because they are asymetrical. You saw here.



carved wood panels in Hadimba

I can almost hear her mom and dad saying
yaakey?
are there no guys in our clan?
he can't even change his form, a mere mortal, not a man-meat eater
not even good looking...such small teeth
what do you see in him? How can we face our neighbours? What will society think!!


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No one is good or bad. They are just different?
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Temples of Manali

When I think of temples I think of a stone structure with pillars and a sanctum. Or a brick and cement one with the modern look. Temples in Delhi are very different. They are more open and devotees have complete access to the main idol. There is a prachin shiv mandir very close to our house. It is a large hall and we are allowed to light lamps and even do abhisheka with milk. It's almost like you are at home!
At Manali the temples are architectural beauties. Most temples and olden houses are built or decorated with carved wooden panels. We saw this house with quaint wooden panels from our hotel balcony.

This lovely wooden temple to Ma Shakti is on the main road of manali...called Mall Road. Photography is forbidden...but we managed!!



Temple on Mall road, Manali

 This Shiv Mandir is a few km from Manali. The diety is called Jagatshakti Shiv. Wonderfully powerful name. The place has a large courtyard and seating. We saw a family relaxing here. They had even brought lunch.



Jagatshakti Mandir, Manali

 We visited Manikaran 85km from Manali. This is the very beautiful Gurdwara with a langar (free feeding). Hymns (Gurbani) fill the air. An ornate bridge across the river Parvati connects the gurdwara to the highway.

We walk into the Gurudwara and reach the Shiv Mandir through a narrow stariway. Even the tiles on the floor of the mandir are hot! Manikaran has hot spring. Small bags with a tablespoon of washed rice are sold. You leave a rice bag in the hot spring for 10 minutes and the rice is cooked! We watched someone else trying it out.

Devotees of both religions visit both places. I found the place peaceful and powerful...like Nandi? The cooked rice is prasad. See cooked rice!

This is a temple 2km from Manali. It is to Hadimba the wife of Bhim. I always thought she was called Hidimba?? She belonged to the rakshasa clan but is venerated here as a powerful and kind goddess.

A three day festival is held in May. When I spoke to a local and refered to her as belonging to the rakshasa clan he was pained and said that they loved her as she had helped destroy evil and had done great penance. This place is really very interesting. I shall tell you more about it tomorrow.

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India is a lovely country
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Vegetables for Dinner

Van Vihar is a forest enclosure in the heart of Manali city. Moss covered boulders, tall trees, eager butterflies and frank flowers make Van Vihar exclusive and charming. 
I spot this local woman digging under a tree in Van Vihar. Curiosity gets the better of me. ‘What are you hunting for?’ I ask her. She looks up and a smile lights up her face.
‘Digging for aalus’ she says and holds one in her hand in display. She has collected a poly bag of wild potatoes!

A classy ethnic bag tucked into her waist, a bandana wrapped round her head (Thipu), a rough hand-woven cloth wrapped around her in traditional style (Pattoo), in canvas shoes (instead of a woollen Pulla), this local woman steals my heart. She will cook a meal in the evening for her family of seven. She has 3 grandchildren but only one of them stays with her. Her son is a driver, she says proudly.

Imagine digging for wild potatoes to cook the evening meal for the family.
Wow

I smelt the potato. It had a musty smell. ‘It is harder and tastes different.’ She said. I asked her permission to click photos. And she accepted with a grin. And then she wanted to see them in my camera too! Her name? She is Meena.

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patience, love and acceptance
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Ondu Plate Maggi Noodles

In Bangalore shops I need to ask for Maggi Noodles. But in Manali when I say Maggi noodles, they ask me
maggi? or noodles?
I say Maggi....very firmly. chopped veggies go into it and finely cut tomatoes. In 7 minutes Maggi is ready.

Maggi is
A harassed mom's saviour
A bachelor's refuge
A teenager's timepass
An old man's dinner
A travellers safe bet
but
on the freezing slopes of the Himalayas
it is better than the best.
A five course meal
A chef's offering
A soulful experience!!

I donnno why
but a plate of hot maggi and steaming tea poured out from a flask, taste heavenly in the snowy slopes.



maggi and chai on solang slopes

 and while we were having our plate of maggi there was this three year old who was crying bitterly. She was infact petrified. A lady was trying to pacify her in broken kannada
amma baratte
crying beda, crying beda
she kept saying!
I call to the little one and speak to her in Kannada. She is consoled for a short time.
her mom and dad have gone paragliding and she is with a known friend who has no kannada!
She looks at the vast white playground and weeps...amma kalad-hogidey (my mom is lost)

I give her my 10/- rupee stick.
idu magic kaddi. idarally dhairya idey. hidko. (this is a magic stick. it has courage. hold it) I said.
And the little one held it tight and swallowed her tears.
30 minutes of sheer hell for the baby .. that she soon forgot
and 30 minutes of awesome fun for her mom-dad...that they will never forget.

I dint think the tears were worth it.
But my younger friends seemed to think it is.

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what say you?
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The Beas in Manali

The Bidigey Chandra (day 2 after full moon) travels with me as I nestle my head into the hard back of the Volvo for a 4 day tour of Manali. We have booked a package tour through Himachal Pradesh Tourism.
I am trying to find a sweet spot and fall asleep. The drive is smooth and I slip into disturbed slumber.

It is about 4 in the morning. a harsh honk jerks me awake. I lazily glance out of the window and am blown out of my senses. The silver of the bright moon makes shimmering lines across a gentle river. The view is breathtaking. This is a dream scene. Gleaming water bends and tapers into mountains. Ranges of the Himalayas fade from sight in layers. Pebbles and rocks sparkle like gems discarded in playful abandon. An ancient narrow bridge spans across the river.
Is this really true?
Am I really seeing this?
I commit the scene to memory and lock it away for need based recall. My camera is in the suitcase  :(



the river in moonlight?

 Here is what it almost looked like! A day image modified...!!

Day 1
We travel by car around Manali. The river meanders through the city. We catch many amazing glimpses of it. Finally at 4 in the evening we climb down 50 steep steps to reach the river bed.

rocky river bed of Beas

Day 3
We drive to Manikaran in Kullu valley to see the hot springs. On the way White water river rafting hoardings entice us. We make a halt. An awesome spot where the waters surge through boulders, tumble over rocks and glide over pebbles. We do not raft for we have no change of clothes. We enjoy the excited screams of rafters. The busy waters. The energy and the calm.



white water rafting

  

I chatter over stony ways, in little sharps and trebles
I bubble into eddying bays, I babble on the pebbles


(These lines in the caption are from Alfred Tennyson's Brook)
Oooh. The water is freezing. The Beas originates from the melting snows of the Himalayas. The crystal clear water, the slippery pebbles and smooth rocks, the clear river bed and the patient mountains leave us enchanted.

Beas in Himachal Pradesh

I recall counting off on my unfolding fingers the names Ravi, Beas, Sutluj etc the five rivers that give Punjab its name. I was in a school in Madras (Chennai) then. And the strange names evoked a sense of wonder. I hoped then that I would one day see these rivers.

My feet play with the waters of the whispering, gurgling, tumbling, skipping Beas.

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River cities are fascinating
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A Hand to Hold

We get into the bus that is to take us to Manali. Young couples move around us hand-in-hand. When the driver warns us with a deep honk they hold tight even while finding their seats in the Volvo! Bright sindoor at hair parting, dozens of bangles resting on their wrists and ready giggles give away their new found status.


A hand squeeze, a finger held tight, a tune tapped into a palm, are silent conversations that tell much more than a dictionary of words.
I trust you, I live by you, say these stolen movements.




a hand to hold


A kid or two later hand-holding is more
to restrain the energetic toddler from wandering away into some corner of the mall especially the expensive kid-toy sections)
to save the toddler from dangerous edges and slippery pools
to together jump a squealing kid across a puddle
to lead the child to happy happenings

A decade later
it is more about shaking hands than holding them. It’s more about chasing success and money making and reinventing the proverbial bubble. A time when often it is a friend's hand we hold in pain or in comfort.
(A teenager’s hand holding is a big No No! He would rather die than be seen holding his mom’s hand! But hey! A pat on the back, a ruffle of hair, a warm smile, yes that’s welcome.)

And the season begins
when the kids have flown to make their own nests. Age catches up and there is more hand holding! This time it’s more about…
look where you are going, oops I missed a step, o watch out, hey see this

And silent conversations happen again.


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hold a hand - it helps
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Thank you God for the food we eat

Thankyou god for the world so sweet
Thankyou god for the birds that sing
Thankyou god for every thing.

My daughters studied at a missionary school. They said this prayer as fervently as only small children can. They sang this at school.  And after they came home they played school-school and taught the song to the array of books-dolls-trucks (read that as ... students)
!!
but let me tell you why I think of that prayer today
and yehhh.....Hey !
I am back. It's so good to be talking to you again. I really missed you these 4 days.
But we had an amazing time in Manali. This hill station in Himachal Pradesh is a feast for the eyes. Called the Green Valley it is surrounded by tall pine forests and majestic snow capped mountains.
there is lots I will be blogging about.
But first a vote of thanks
I am filled with a sense of gratitude
that we make this trip together,
that we enjoy the ability to do this,
that we see nature in its winter glory,
that we see spring marching in,
that we locate a most hospitable hotel to stay in,
that we get tourist friendly drivers to take us around
that we make friends with couples just beginning their life together,
that we have Google and blogging and
that I have internet access so I can share this with you all.
and many thanks to you guys for saying wonderfully kind things to me to make me write more.
love you guys.
you rock.

(er I got that right na? You Rock andrey you throw rock antha alla thaney??)

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I kind of liked my previous post...but che, you never told me 'good'
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Jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji

abhi abhi yahin thaa, kidhar gaya ji?

Have you heard this most romantic song by OP Nayyar, that plays, laughs and teases?

The scene is a sedate office with books and files and tables

This young man (Jonny Walker) is looking for his lost heart

and his girl, Cuckoo asks him where he saw it last!

reprimands him for bringing it along

and hunt under the tables and chairs for it!

he wonders if she has not by any chance stolen it

by her large eyes and pleasing face

and he is willing to pay her two four-anna bits to have it back!

the banter and teasing go on for 3 minutes

bringing a smile to anyone who listens in to their happy chatter

...

and understands!

here is a YouTube link

Tell me

Do we LAUGH because we are HAPPY

or

Are we HAPPY because we LAUGH?



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arrey yaar........ show me your gums

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We are off on a Conducted tour! We explore Manali. I will be back with many stories on 26th.
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